Washington State Knowledge Bowl

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Just got word in that one of our local High School clubs will be fund raising at the event by selling Pizza.  Please pass  this along to your students.

Down load the t-shirt order form here.

New page created, listing registered teams.

As our Regional meets are completed, we can be sure that the 28^th Annual WA State Knowledge Bowl Tournament is just around the corner.  The following information should prove helpful to you and to the qualifying teams from your region in preparing for the upcoming tournament.

DATE/LOCATION: State Tournament XXVIII will be held in two locations this year:  The 4A, 3A, and 2A tourneys will be at Hanford High School, while the tournaments for the 1A, 2B, & 1B schools will be held at West Valley HS in Spokane.  Both meets will be on Saturday, March 27^th, 2010.  (Coaches should do a google map search for directions and map as needed.)  Teams should plan to arrive between 7:15 and 7:50 am.  A general assembly will begin at 8:00.

QUALIFYING TEAMS: Reminder for Regional Coordinators – As soon as your qualifying teams for the State Tournament are known, please provide this registration/information packet to the appropriate coaches, including the info on the cover sheet.  Also, please email a summary of your regional results to Dale as soon as possible and register your 4A, 3A, and 2A teams online at http://statekb.esd123.net/.

REGISTRATION FORMS: Coaches – In order for us to prepare for this meet on time, the team registration forms need to be returned as soon as possible.  Your regional coordinator may wish to take responsibility for collecting the form(s) from you and send them to Dale, or the forms may be handed out to coaches with instructions to return them directly to Dale.  Please note the deadline.

STATE TOURNAMENT T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE: Again this year, we will be offering teams and individuals the chance to pre-order a commemorative WA State Knowledge Bowl State Tourney T-Shirt.  Please refer to the information sheet and the order form included with this info packet.

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS: For the convenience of those planning overnight stays, please contact the Red Lion or the Shillo Inn in Richland.  Although there are several other motels available, an attempt has been made to list some of those which are close to Hanford High.  Coaches should make their own contacts on behalf of their teams.

CODE OF CONDUCT: Coaches – We are again making a copy of the WA State Knowledge Bowl Code of Conduct available for the coaches to use as needed.  These forms are to be collected and kept on file by the coaches, not sent to me.

TEAMS/QUESTIONS: There will be 54 teams competing at the event – 18 each at the 4A, 3A and 2A levels.  Pristine questions have been secured, and are being reviewed for accuracy, readability, and consistency.  Readers will be able to preview the questions in case they have any concerns.

READER/JUDGES AND TIMERS: We are trying very hard to gather quality local volunteers to act as Reader/Judges and Timers so that coaches will be able to watch their kids participate if they wish.  These volunteers will be trained in the rules and use of the equipment, and they will be able to preview the questions.  Hopefully, things will go smoothly with their help.  However, experience has shown that it is difficult to get enough local volunteers to cover the entire event.  So, we are again offering coaches the chance to volunteer to serve as a reader/judge or timer as well.  Remember, it is not required that a coach volunteer to help in this way.  But, not only is some help from coaches essential, we also recognize that some coaches look forward to doing this.  Refer to the team registration sheet.

RULES AND PROCEDURES: The “Rules and Guidelines for Competition” and “Responsibilities — Meet Officials and Coaches” are very similar to last year.  These pamphlets will be included in the team packets on the day of the meet, but I am also emailing them at this time.  Please make copies and distribute as needed for the qualifying teams in your region.  This year once again, a third document has been included:  Team Classification Guidelines.  This documentation explains the policies we plan to follow whenever a question arises regarding the level of competition for a certain school.

TIMING EQUIPMENT: Coaches are encouraged to bring their working sets along, and then to check to see if they are needed on the day of the meet.  There is still a need for additional timing sets to be used during the Preliminary Rounds.  Please make sure your equipment is labeled.

HANFORD HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL LAYOUT AND PARKING: Hanford High has lots of parking in our lots immediately surrounding the building.  Turn right at the light and feel free to park anywhere in the lot that is available to you.  The main entryway is on the South entrance.  School building maps will be available in your team packets on the day of the meet.

I.D. NAMETAGS: Included in each team packet on the day of the meet will be six ID name tags for team members and two ID name tags for coaches.  Everyone involved should wear these at all times during the meet.  If you need more, let us know that day.

APPROPRIATE DRESS: Team members should be encouraged to dress appropriately for the State Meet.  This should mean dressing in a manner that would be appropriate for school — in other words, choosing to wear clothing that would be dignified rather than offensive.  Our school, for example, does not allow t-shirts with pictures or captions promoting the use of drugs or alcohol, or that are sexual in content.  These would also not be appropriate for the State Tournament.

HIGHLIGHTED RULES AND PROCEDURES: These are not changes from last year, but I list them as reminders.

1. Substitutions are allowed during all oral rounds at the halfway point in the round.
2. Please refer to the rules for the proper procedure for lodging Formal Challenges at the end of an oral round.
3. There will be 50 questions on the written round, 50 questions on each pre-lim oral, and 50 on the semi and champ orals.
4. Refer to the rules sheet for information about when and how ties will be resolved.
5. 9 teams from each level (4A, etc) will advance to the semi and champ oral rounds.  See the rules for this procedure.

LUNCH ON CAMPUS: There will not be any lunches provided on campus. Please pack have students pack a lunch.

SNACKS: The concession stand might be open during the day.  I am not sure at this point what might be offered, but there should be some items of interest in the morning, during breaks and at lunch.

COACHES HOSPITALITY ROOM: We are planning to have a room for the coaches where they may go for coffee, snacks, to rest, and so on, during the course of the long day.  More info about the room(s) and location(s) will be available in the team packets on meet day.

PUBLICITY: I am asking the Regional Coordinators to assist with the distribution of information about the State Meet after its conclusion.  I can email or fax these results to you, and then you in turn can make the information available to either the coaches or the newspapers in your region.

We are looking forward to hosting our first WA State Knowledge Bowl State Tournament at Hanford High School.  We hope you have a great time here, and that your teams experience a successful and rewarding competition.

Register your team here http://statekb.esd123.net/?page_id=18

Register your team here http://statekb.esd123.net/?page_id=18

Register your team here http://statekb.esd123.net/?page_id=18

We have arranged great pricing with both the Richland Red Lion and the Richland Shilo Inn.

T-shirt competition announced.